Shadow: Set in the Afghanistan war, the heartwarming story of a boy and a dog, from the bestselling author of War Horse

Lovely story, nice edition

Known primarily as a successful author of over 100 books Michael Morpurgo was the third Children's Laureate from 2003-2005 and his recent `Shadow' must be one of his best. Michael Morpurgo is noted as a `magical storyteller' and for `Shadow' he bases his book on the true story of a sniffer dog missing in Afghanistan. Shadow is the name of a fictional dog and the actions and outcomes covering 3 generations are cleverly told by the 3 main protagonists - an Afghan boy, his English friend, and the friend's grandfather. There are postscripts giving factual information concerning the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and the plight of refugees. It is a powerful and compelling story relevant to the present time with demonstrations of the horrific reality of war and the inhumanity of behaviour towards asylum seekers, together with insights to the cultural divide between Afghanistan and England.Amidst death, destruction, corruption and abuse of power author Michael Morpurgo sensitively counterbalances compassion, hope and freedom. He seizes the reader's attention and holds on to it throughout his moving and emotional book, and without patronising he kindles feelings of sympathy and outrage. In addition to meaningful dialogue written in easy to assimilate short chapters the book is delightfully illustrated by Christian Birmingham. The targeted audience seems to be 10-14 year olds, but it should be manageable by those younger and also by adults. It is a book to engross all ages and to make everyone think.

Good read

This is a wonderful story which captures the complex web of relationships and situations facing a group of very different people who have one thing in common: the courage to fight for freedom. Nowhere is this seen more strongly than in the relationship between a boy and a dog, namely, Shadow.The book illustrates the fear and terror of living in Afganistan under the hidden yet often open threats of the Taliban for the young boy Aman and his family. But when Aman is befriended by an unusual Springer Spaniel who is in need of nursing for her wounds the life of his family is about to change forever.Be prepared (perhaps more so if you are an adult) to shed a few tears; I certainly did. Michael Morpurgo is willing to open chidren's eyes to the reality of the world, to the love and caring that people can show for one another and with their animals. Yet he does not hide them from the cruelty, hostility and sheer indifference that others seem capable of inflicting on their fellow travellers through life. The power of the scenes in this book, whether in the caves of Afganistan or the detention centre in the United Kingdom lies with your imagination, which Michael Morpurgo stimulates in every chapter.There are hidden depths in this narrative which not only provides a wonderfully rich story, but which also should force one to think about two very different societies, which nevertheless are populated by similar kinds of people. The illustrations are great and support a powerful story.

For someone who is not keen on reading books and much prefers audio books. This story allows you to feel the emotions of the characters. Michael Morpurgo has made this book easy to follow and each chapter entices you to find out more within the next chapter. Such a fab read! Highly recommend this book to all ages. Very educational where you feel as though you are living in the characters’ shoes.

I have read most of Michael Morpurgo's books, and this stands among his very best. He is never frightened to tackle challenging issues, and in this age of misplaced nationalism and the rise of UKIP etc, thank Goodness someone is prepared to al least try and show children the other side of the story.Set jointly in Afghanistan and the UK, the book brilliantly explores the issue of the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. At times, there are frightening similarities between the 2 systems, with the only difference in attitude being a matter of extremes. And holding it all together is the poignant story of one boy and a dog.It isn't perfect, there is the issue of the perception of dogs in Islam which the author does his very best to deal with, but it doesn't detract from the book in any way. What it shows so well is the essential goodness of the human spirit and the corruption of this spirit that always and inevitably accompanies war.I loved it. I have read many good books this year, but this is by far the best.

two girls, dog-lovers and Morpurgo-fans, might not be the most dispassionate reviewers, but they absolutely loved this book. Aged 14 and nearly 13, they read it avidly, and followed the story - and the geography - completely absorbed. Their normal lives were put on hold, bikes left unridden, friends almost ignored: the book is all. What impressed their families is that the girls aren't particularly keen readers. Whatever Michael Morpurgo does, he has got the most amazing gift of catching and holding the casual reader, who can find his stories so gripping that reading becomes the best alternative to facebook.Whether you have a pre-teen, or young teen, this book is enormously warmly recommended.

Yes, I did enjoy reading this book. The only reason I gave it three stars rather than five is because the author and/or publisher, appear to have perfected the art of placing the smallest possible amount of text on each page, thus making the page length quoted seem rather a deception.The text is in a much larger font than one would expect. The interlinear spaces are wide, and the margins, header and footer space is huge by comparison.I can only say that I am glad I only purchased a used copy - price 1p plus p&p! I find this blatant and deliberate wastage of space in order to make the book look longer than it really is, unacceptable. The author is a good one, so surely he can stretch his stories enough to give the reader a book that is good value for money as well as a good read?

This story is about Aman and his mother who escaped from Afghanistan to England. They met a dog named shadow who was the bravest dog in the world. Shadow was a sniffer dog and she found a bomb. They told the police near by but Aman's mum was scared because in Afghanistan the police abused her. The police thanked them and after they lived with them for a while. One day they sadly had to leave and go to their grandads place. They lived there for a while but one day some other police took them to a prison and was going to send them back to Afghanistan. Will their grandad be able to help them escape?I loved this book because it shows teamwork and bravery.I recommend it to anyone who loves animals and teamwork books like me! :D

sempre perfetti rapidi ed efficienti

The book was in fabulous condition. I am reading it with one of my students and quite enjoy it. Thank you!

Es un libro muy emotivo y encantador sobre un niño que vive bajo la triste penumbra de la guerra. Libro que demuestra que el amor puede con todo.(esta en ingles)

Enfants de 11 ou plus triste,joyeux,emotional ,tres bienExplique bien l'histoire de la guerre au Afghanistan avec des addition suberbe